PLBs Can Save Your Life

[Dan]

Just thinking... (Antennae and device needs to be above water)
So unless you want to be holding your MRG + PLB up and out of the water for many hours, - you may need a table/float of some kind.
Those surface buoys used by spear-fishers and free-divers may be an option, though the tend to be bulky when deflated.
- How about a children's swimming aid like the one on my avatar.
Put a net/goody-bag around it and you have a nice little table that stores very compact until needed.

Check out my post #644 in page 65 of this thread.

PLB1 comes with strap & bracket.

You need to carry them with you. When the inevitable happens, launch it and strap it over your BCD corrugated power inflator hose on top of the BCD left shoulder strap as shown, below.

 

[Dan]

All camera cases and dive canisters are going to leak in time. Your best chances come from replacing o-rings every year or two and using silicone grease on o-rings as needed. Water may ruin a camera when its case leaks (never happened to me, but the saying goes that they all do in time), but not a PLB if the o-ring minimizes the flow to prevent pressure build up. It'd be wise to check it every day; I didn't on my last trip then found it full of water on the last day, but the PLB went on to pass testing when I had the battery replaced the following month. I also purchased a couple of new o-rings and made a note to work at lubbing better.

I don't see a plastic bag as adding benefit, but I guess it wouldn't hurt anything to try.

Knock on wood, I have taken my PLB1 in $10 old camera case for 200+ dive to as deep as 144’ at one case & it hasn’t leak, yet. What you need is also preventive maintenance of open the case after the trip and store it in your drawer between trips to keep the o-ring from deforming to flat spots around the sealing area.

 

[seeker242]

When first activated these units are meant to stay on until rescue comes.
For how long can you hold your hands up, even changing hands or taking shift between divers.

They are designed to attach to your shoulder so you don't have to hold it up.

 

[2stoned]

Yes, regarding the PLB, I did see the shoulder-clip in the manual. The PLB will do just fine on your shoulder sending signal off to the satellites...
The MRG on the other hand...
Even holding it up in the air, (due to the earth not being flat) I doubt your DSC/AIS radio signal would reach much more than a couple of miles at best.
To reach 34 miles you would have to be up really high to receive the signal.
AIS signal will be detected by satellites and SAR search planes apparently.
I guess then, bring the selfie-stick.

 

[seeker242]

Yes, regarding the PLB, I did see the shoulder-clip in the manual. The PLB will do just fine on your shoulder sending signal off to the satellites...
The MRG on the other hand...
Even holding it up in the air, (due to the earth not being flat) I doubt your DSC/AIS radio signal would reach much more than a mile or three.
To reach 34 miles you would have to be up really high to receive the signal.
I guess then, bring the selfie-stick.

Probably 5-6 miles to a typical dive boat like a Newton 36. A selfie stick, might increase by 1 mile maybe. 30+ miles would require the receiver to be on top of a big cliff, cruise ship or something like that, which is where Nautilus lifeline got their numbers from.

 

[Dan]

Yes, regarding the PLB, I did see the shoulder-clip in the manual. The PLB will do just fine on your shoulder sending signal off to the satellites...
The MRG on the other hand...
Even holding it up in the air, (due to the earth not being flat) I doubt your DSC/AIS radio signal would reach much more than a couple of miles at best.
To reach 34 miles you would have to be up really high to receive the signal.
AIS signal will be detected by satellites and SAR search planes apparently.
I guess then, bring the selfie-stick.

If you don’t see any boat in horizon, forget about raising your hand up with MRG on your palm or on selfy stick. That’s a good idea though.

 

[dianna912]

To be clear, the thought was exactly what Dan T said, putting the PLB into the hard case first, then sealing that whole setup in a bag. That would hopefully deal with both the pressure issue and the issue of leakage from the pelican itself. We got the idea because while kayaking we put our phones first in a dry box, then a dry bag as an additional measure of safety. (We aren’t married to the pelican idea, it just seems to be the most space efficient. I don’t know if there are any better dry boxes that would actually be rated for depth?)

The big question now is.... which bag? Is there any type of bag (maybe a large iPhone bag) that might work to a depth of 40m but would fit the micro pelican?

 

[Dan]

To be clear, the thought was exactly what Dan T said, putting the PLB into the hard case first, then sealing that whole setup in a bag. That would hopefully deal with both the pressure issue and the issue of leakage from the pelican itself. We got the idea because while kayaking we put our phones first in a dry box, then a dry bag as an additional measure of safety. (We aren’t married to the pelican idea, it just seems to be the most space efficient. I don’t know if there are any better dry boxes that would actually be rated for depth?)

The big question now is.... which bag? Is there any type of bag (maybe a large iPhone bag) that might work to a depth of 40m but would fit the micro pelican?

I think the key is to get as much as air out of the bag so when you are at depth, the bag wouldn’t burst due to the hydraulic crushing pressure squeezing the bag. That’s why I mention seal-a-meal bag where you vacuum out the bag before permanently sealed.

 

[dianna912]

I’m really surprised that with all the high tech diving equipment out there, specifically for tech diving, that there is not an easier solution for this.

 

[CuzzA]

I’m really surprised that with all the high tech diving equipment out there, specifically for tech diving, that there is not an easier solution for this.

What do you mean? Buy a PLB. Buy a PLB canister. Problem solved. The issues arise when people start over thinking things.